Hailing from Yorkshire, the true home of British Brass Bands, Rob was destined to join his local Brass Band and had a glittering career over many years playing in the UKs finest brass bands. Having joined John Packer Ltd in 1998 he now oversees the company’s sales and marketing strategies including the JP Musical Instruments brand and can often be seen at all the major trade events across the globe
Having spent her formative years in Devon, Annie joined John Packer Ltd in June 1994 and became a Director and Company Secretary later that year. Her financial background was formerly in hotels, but after initially being the only the member of the Finance Department when she first came to John Packer’s, she now has a strong team around her who help her keep an eagle eye on the finances of the company.
From a very young age, music has been a passion of Tom’s. A tuba player who has represented Great Britain in the National Youth Orchestra, performing all over the country and even playing at the BBC Proms. Tom studied for two years at the Royal Academy of Music, and in that time worked with some of the world’s leading conductors and sharing a stage with Elton John. Now back in Somerset with his wife, son and daughter. Tom spends his spare time performing with street bands and jazz bands as a tuba/sousaphone player, mostly with The Little Big Horns, playing cricket and enjoying a refreshing beverage.
Amy started playing the Cornet in 2006 after moving to Devon from Maidenhead. Amy has a great passion for brass bands and contesting, she joined the Sidmouth Town Band in 2017 and competes in contests all over the Country, including the National Championships of Great Britain. She joined John Packer in 2019 as a sales assistant. Shortly after, Amy began to oversee our spare parts department. She now works closely with our Admin team and continues to manage our spare parts.
Alice is an clarinettist who graduated with a BMus (Hons) from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2018. Whilst there she specialized in harmony clarinets as well as the traditional Bb/A instruments. Born and raised in Somerset, she enjoyed the music scene from an early age, be it on clarinet or saxophones. She has been studying the clarinet for over 10 years and has studied under names such as Michael Whight, Fiona Cross, Ian Mitchell (Bass), Dr Kevin Murphy and Sue Francombe. Alice has gained both her DipABRSM clarinet performance and LTCL instrumental teaching diplomas.
Thomas joined the team in the beginning of 2023, after graduating from Bangor University with a Masters Degree in ‘Composition and Sonic Art.’ Thomas has played Trumpet since the age of 7, and began French Horn as a second instrument whilst in college. He is a passionate ensemble player, having played with Taunton Concert Band for many years, in addition to being an ex-member of Phoenix Brass Crewkerne and several university ensembles. After a year conducting the Bangor University Concert Band, Thomas has decided to continue conducting, and currently has two Musical Director positions, with the North Curry Village Orchestra and the Taunton Clarinet Choir.
With a background in journalism, marketing and the arts, Mark Good has enjoyed a diverse career encompassing local newspapers, in-house marcomms and global agencies. He is also a former editor of British
Bandsman magazine.
Mark’s career has been underpinned by studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he was awarded a scholarship to study bass trombone under Chris Stearn (Orchestra, Scottish Opera) and conducting under Dr Alasdair Mitchell and Nigel Boddice MBE. He followed this with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism (Distinction) at Glasgow Caledonian University.
As a conductor, he has enjoyed posts as musical director with the likes of Renfrew Burgh, Riverside Youth and Johnstone bands, guiding each to contesting success.
For nearly 20 years, he has presented a weekly brass music programme on Argyll FM and has hosted live coverage of major brass events for the likes of BrassPass.tv and the Scottish Brass Band ssociation.
Stuart's past experience was in IT, but he made a career change to Digital Marketing. His IT experience comes in handy in his role of keeping the website up to date. Stuart also maintains our social media accounts and does our product photography and videos.
Roger joined us in early 2015 but hasn’t hesitated in becoming a core part of our team. Our resident Sage guru, Roger is continuously looking for ways to improve our system which in turn enables us to give better customer service. Roger is one of the first points of contact when dealing with telephone enquiries and usually the friendly voice you first speak to.
Rob joined John Packer Ltd in 2007 after relocating from Slough to Somerset. At John Packer, Rob oversees the daily operations of our warehouse, ensuring the smooth flow of shipments and maintaining organized stock. While Rob may not play a musical instrument himself, he does have a deep appreciation for music, having previously run his own disco and karaoke events. Outside of work, Rob enjoys life in Somerset with his wife and son, appreciating the moments they share in the beauty of their local surroundings.
Ian has worked at John Packer for more than 15 years and specialises in the repair and servicing of brass instruments. Along with Amy he can help with any spares you may need.
Ashlyn joined the team in 2022 as a trainee repairer, having a keen interest in the fundamentals of how instruments work. As a first-study saxophonist, she studied BA music performance at Chichester University.
Following this, she continued onto postgraduate study through a PGCE in secondary music. Ashlyn plays in Taunton Concert Band and in her spare time enjoys yoga and taking part in motorsport.
Catherine joined the team in November 2023 as a woodwind trainee repairer. Her interest came about when her flute stopped working a week before her ATCL diploma exam, which led to a lot of stress trying to get it repaired in time.
Catherine studied BMus (hons) Music performance at the University of Chichester Conservatoire, flute being her first study (for which she has a ARSM and ATCL diploma in) and voice and piano (achieving Grade 8 for each) being her second study. She was involved in the Chamber orchestra and choir and was a member in the symphony orchestra and played in a variety of different bands and ensembles, within the Conservatoire. Her highlight of her degree was playing in Cadogan Hall and Abbey road studios in London and playing in ‘the moment’ at Goodwood Festival of speed. She also has a passion for choral singing and playing the organ in her local Church and she is currently in a chamber choir and plays in small ensemble groups and orchestras in Devon.
Catherine grew up on her family farm and has a real love for animals, especially pygmy goats. She loves exploring the outdoors in her spare time, going for hikes, mountain biking horse riding and climbing.